1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sweeper, and in particular, to a dust case for a sweeper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional sweeper is disclosed, for example, in Korean Official Gazette for Registration Utility Model 20-0317923. Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the sweeper according to this disclosure includes a housing 10, a rotary brush 20 installed in a manner rotable by a drive motor 30 installed at one side of the housing 10, a container 40 removably installed at the rear side of the housing 10, and a handle (not shown) removably connected to an upper side face of the housing 10. The housing 10 has a suction port of a given size on the front lower side, and the rotary brush 20 is disposed at the suction port 11. There is a coupling groove 12 formed at a rear side of the housing 10, and a turnable piece 13 into which the handle (not shown) is inserted and installed at an upper side of the housing 10.
The rotary brush 20 is disposed at the side of the suction port 11 of the housing 10 and installed in such a manner that a part of it is exposed outside the housing 10 and contacts the floor surface. Also, the rotary brush 20 is configured to receive a rotational driving force from the drive motor which is provided at one side of the housing 10, via an indirect transmission mechanism 32 (such as a belt, chain, etc.). Here, the drive motor 30 is actuated in response to an On/Off signal from an actuating switch 31 provided on an upper side face of the housing 10.
The container 40 is removably connected to the rear side of the housing 10, and a hook 42 that is opened either upwards or downwards by a push button 41 is preferably formed on a front side of the container 42, the hook 42 being linked into or released (pulled out) from the coupling groove 12 that is formed at the rear side face of the housing 10 to enable the installation/removal of the container 40 at/from the rear side of the housing 10.
Moreover, a predetermined guide groove 15 or guide projection 43 is selectively formed at a region where the housing 10 and the container 40 are interconnected to each other, and an appropriate number of wheels are provided at the lower faces of the housing 10 and container 40. Tilt planes 14 and 44 of a predetermined angle are formed at the lower face of the region where the housing 10 and the container 40 are interconnected to each other to ensure that dirt particles on the floor surface being collected by the rotary brush 20 are completely gathered into the container 40.
According to this configuration of the housing 10 and the container 40 of a conventional sweeper, dirt particles when swept by the rotary brush 20 usually move along the tilt plane 14 and are collected in the container 40, but some dirt particles flow reversely because of the centrifugal force of the rotary brush 20 and may escape again through the suction port 11.
Furthermore, when dirt particles become stuck to the rotary brush 20, the performance of the rotary brush as a broom is degraded, and the sanitary appearance thereof is affected.
Referring now to FIGS. 16 and 17, a conventional steam combined sweeper includes a built-in tank 10x where water is kept and boiled into steam to generate water vapor, a wheel 20x for moving a body 30x and a suction brush 40x located at the front area of the body 30x to sweep dirt on the floor, in which a cleaning cloth 50x is removably attached to the bottom face of the body 30x, the suction brush 40x is coupled to the body 30x in a rotatable manner by a shaft support 42x disposed transversely, and one side of the shaft support 42x is connected to the wheel 20x and to a belt 60x to enable rotation. Steam being generated is spouted through steam-spouting holes 12x so as to dampen the cleaning cloth 50x attached to the body 30x. 
Meanwhile, when the conventional sweeper described above is used for cleaning a carpet (e.g., a fur carpet), projections used for attaching the cloth 50x may be caught in furs of the carpet and cause damage to the carpet, meaning that the sweeper is suitable only for cleaning non-carpeted floors.